Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 10:1-3
10:1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
10:2. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
10:3. and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
The appearances of Jesus with the seven lights of glory are as follows:
Jesus appears with the seven lights of glory to illuminate us, the sinners or the despicable men, so we can become as glorious and perfect as Him, and we are worthy to greet His second coming.
ad. 3. His face is like the sun.
Isaiah 52:13-14
52:13. Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
52:14. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;
Actually, Jesus appears in the glory as the successful Servant. He shines like the sun.
But, at verse fourteen, His visage is marred more than any man. It means that He becomes the same as dog and swine, even the Devil.
Why is Jesus willing to be marred more than any man?
There are three times of the rising or the shining of the sun for us as follows:
God blesses us.
Revelation 10:1-3
10:1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
10:2. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
10:3. and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
The appearances of Jesus with the seven lights of glory are as follows:
- Being clothed with a cloud.
- A rainbow is on his head.
- His face is like the sun.
- His feet are like pillars of fire.
- Having a little book open in his hand.
- Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
- Crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.
Jesus appears with the seven lights of glory to illuminate us, the sinners or the despicable men, so we can become as glorious and perfect as Him, and we are worthy to greet His second coming.
ad. 3. His face is like the sun.
Isaiah 52:13-14
52:13. Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
52:14. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;
Actually, Jesus appears in the glory as the successful Servant. He shines like the sun.
But, at verse fourteen, His visage is marred more than any man. It means that He becomes the same as dog and swine, even the Devil.
Why is Jesus willing to be marred more than any man?
- Bearing all of our badness.
- Giving His glory to us, so we become as perfect and glorious as Him, and we are worthy to greet Him when He comes a second time on the glorious clouds.
There are three times of the rising or the shining of the sun for us as follows:
- The sunrise in Zoar. It refers to the first love.
Genesis 19:17-26
19:17. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
19:18. Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!
19:19. "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
19:20. "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
19:21. And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
19:22. "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
19:23. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
19:24. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
19:25. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
19:26. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot and his family had been saved from Sodom and Gomorrah, but he confessed that he could not escape to the mountains. Lot asked to enter Zoar and God said that He would not overthrow that city. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
Lot has escaped from Sodom and Gomorrah. It means that he has been saved and not been destroyed. But, he must escape to the mountains, so he will not be destroyed.
Revelation 21:9-10
21:9. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
21:10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
The mountains refer to perfection, namely the bride of God or New Jerusalem.
It means that we must make effort to be perfected after being saved, so we are not destroyed forever.
Lot confesses that he cannot escape to the mountains. Now, we confess that we cannot reach the perfection. The way out is going to Zoar, a little city where the sun rises, so we do not experience the punishment of God, namely the rain of brimstone and fire.
In the Tabernacle, being saved is the same as entering the gate. The tool that is the nearest to it is the Altar of Burnt Offerings. It refers to the cross of Christ. We must always be close to the cross of Christ although it is often considered as small and meaningless thing.
1 Corinthians 1:23
1:23. but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
Both Israelites and Gentiles reject the cross. The Jews do not admit Jesus because they just know Him as the son of a carpenter.
The Gentiles only look for the thing that is comfortable for flesh, so they reject the cross.
Actually, the cross is the place to confess all of our sin, weakness, and condition. The cross must be the nearest place in our heart. If we confess, we do not need to be destroyed (sunrise).
It means that we receive the first love (sunrise) from the cross (Zoar), so we do not need to be destroyed anymore. We cannot and will not be destroyed.
John 1:1
1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The proofs of receiving the first love are as follows:- 'In the beginning was the Word' It means that we must hear the word of God delightfully until we believe in Jesus.
We receive faith by hearing the word, not by seeing. We believe in Jesus as the only Savior who will come a second time as the King of kings and Heavenly Bridegroom. - If we receive the first love, we will do introspection in our life, so we quickly confess our sin by the encouragement of the Word because we are close to the cross of Christ.
Do not sin anymore after being forgiven! We repent to live in righteousness and holiness.
We must become the instrument of righteousness after being justified. We minister to God faithfully, fervently and righteously until the finish line.
Be watchful! Lot's wife does not reach the finish line.
Genesis 19:26
19:26. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot's wife refers to one who has repented and served God, but he looks back at the end of his life. Do not ever stop ministering to God on the way or at the end of our life!
Lot's wife looks back because she is bound by Sodom and Gomorrah.
It means as follows:- Being bound by the will of money, so one becomes stingy and greedy.
- Being bound by the sins of Babylon, namely the sins of eating-drinking (smoking, getting drunk, and drugs abuse) and marrying-giving in marriage (fornication, infidelity, mixed-marriage et cetera).
1 John 3:7
3:7. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
Let us repent and escape to Zoar until we are righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.
The result is that we receive the certainty from God as follows:- God cannot do anything to punish Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot arrives in Zoar. It means that we are saved.
Genesis 19:22
19:22. "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
On the contrary, God cannot do anything to defend us if we are outside the cross or righteousness.
All of our riches and cleverness are unable to determine and guarantee our salvation.
Outside the cross, we cannot do anything. All things become in vain and useless up to perdition.
That is why we must always prioritize the salvation at work or school, whether we are rich or not. - God will bless us.
Genesis 19:20
19:20. "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
God takes care of us, so we always give thanks to God. We never get minus but surplus, even we become blessing for others. - Zoar will not be overthrown. It means the preservation of our soul. We live in peace, not stress.
- 'In the beginning was the Word' It means that we must hear the word of God delightfully until we believe in Jesus.
- The sun rises in Peniel. It refers to increasing love. It is linked with the struggles of Jacob.
Genesis 32:24-31
32:24. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
32:25. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
32:26. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
32:27. So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."
32:28. And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."
32:29. Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.
32:30. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
32:31. Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
Jacob struggles until the breaking of day.
It means that we must struggle, so the love increases up to perfection.
Matthew 24:12
24:12. "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
We may struggle to get more salary or better life, but the more important is struggling so that the love of God increases in our life until becoming the perfect love when Jesus comes a second time.
Why? Because on the last days there will be the winter or the love that grows cold even frozen. It refers to lawlessness.
One is rebellious against God. It means that he does not want to minister to God anymore.
One is also rebellious against men. It means that he hates others especially others in marriage.
The frozen love will become hard like stone. It means throwing stones to one another even hiding the hands (taking advantage of others).
Struggling is the same as worshipping God. In the Tabernacle, it refers to the Golden Altar of Incense.
We must see the face of Jesus delightfully through worship, so we are not influenced by Sodom and Gomorrah.
As a result, our love will increase.
The proof of it is as follows:- The increasing love makes our faith increase too. We become the servant of God who is strong and of good courage.
We will never get disappointed and desperate as well as leave God, regardless of anything that happens. We keep living in righteousness and holiness, and ministering to God faithfully and fervently until the finish line. We keep believing and hoping God. - By being strong and of good courage, we can win over the beast (antichrist).
Revelation 17:14
17:14. "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
The love gives increasing strength up to the abundance, so we win over the antichrist who will reign over the world for three and a half years.
It means that we will not be tormented and killed by the antichrist. We will not worship and become like him but we will be flown to the wilderness by the two wings of a great eagle.
The two wings of a great eagle are the great advantage that we receive through our ministry to God.
If the faith and love increase, the wing will get bigger and stronger.
The increasing love takes away all of our fear and worry like Jacob, so we are calm and happy.
Jacob and all of his family can be saved.
The increasing love will unify our marriage and children. We are saved and happy.
Unifying means restoring our marriage. Previously, Jacob's family was divided into three parts, but it could be unified again.
If love decreases, our marriage will be divided. The love grows cold even freezes in the marriage and shepherding. - In the prayer, we struggle to get the new name or renewal of life.
Jacob receives a new name, namely Israel.
Jacob means a liar. Israel means a winner.
Becoming a winner means that we confess our sin honestly. We become a winner, not a liar.
The opposite of a worthy man is a coward or liar. Old name cannot be written in the Book of Life. We receive the new name through honesty.
Proverbs 16:32
16:32. He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Becoming a winner is the same as being slow to anger.
Writing a name in the Book of Life is like engraving. It needs patience.
Being patient means that we are patient in waiting the time of God and do not look for the other ways which are outside the will of God.
Struggling to get the new name is the same as struggling to be shepherded well and correctly. It starts from a shepherd.
The terms of being shepherded well and correctly are as follows:- Being shepherded to one true teaching word or true vine, namely Jesus.
- We struggle to stay in the sheepfold or enter the narrow door although we must suffer in flesh.
10:3. "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Our name is being called by God every time we hear the shepherding word or the voice of shepherd and He is writing our name in the Book of Life. It is our own struggle.
We need the shepherding Word which is preached continuously, repetitively, regularly, and in order to write our name. That is why we must have endurance until our name is written completely.
When are we called? When the shepherding word shows all of our sin and condition, we must confess our sin to God and others. Do not sin anymore after being forgiven!
If we commit the sin again, our name will be erased. We must persevere in the true and good shepherding until the finish line and when Jesus comes, we enter the last sheepfold, namely the New Jerusalem.
In the Tabernacle, perseverance in committing the three kinds of the main service to God is the same as being shepherded to get the love of God.
John 10:5
10:5. "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
We must flee from strange voice, namely false gossips and other teaching that is not according to the true teaching word.
Be careful! We often trust others whose life is not true more than a shepherd who perseveres in the sheepfold.
The strange voice also refers to the fleshly one.
Why must we flee from the strange voice? We must flee from the strange voice because it disturbs the writing of our name in the Book of Life. - Being shepherded to one true teaching word or true vine, namely Jesus.
- The increasing love makes our faith increase too. We become the servant of God who is strong and of good courage.
- The sun rises on the evil and on the good or in our heart. It refers to perfect love.
Matthew 5:43-45
5:43. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
5:44. "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
5:45. "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
The perfect love has no purpose but willingly sacrifices and does not consider the appearance.
We receive the perfect love through the sprinkle of blood, namely suffering in flesh without any sin for Jesus.
In the Tabernacle, it happens in the Most Holy Place.
The facts found in the perfect love are as follows:- We prioritize God or the ministry more than anything. It is the same as becoming obedient and faithful until our flesh does not sound anymore.
- We love others as we love ourselves.
It means that we do not harm, deceive, nor do evil things to others. We do not return evil for evil but good.
The functions of the perfect love are as follows:- The perfect love is like the sun that is able to take care of us although we are in the valley.
It means that God is able to take care of us who are powerless in the world up to the days of Antichrist's reigning on earth for three and a half years until we receive eternal life.
Proverbs 19:5-7
19:5. A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.
19:6. Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.
19:7. All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. - The perfect love gives us extra power, namely endurance. We will not be separated from God, regardless of anything that happens. We keep becoming priests and kings until the finish line even forever.
Jeremiah 33:19-21
33:19. And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
33:20. "Thus says the LORD: 'If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,
33:21. 'then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.
If we are gossiped, we must do introspection in our life whether it is true or not.
Do not be offended! Keep ministering to God up to the throne of heaven.
We keep holding fast our ministry as priests and kings as long as the sun shines. - The perfect love or the one of the Bridegroom is able to make us more than conquerors because God fights for us to finish all of our problems up to the impossible ones.
Joshua 10:12,14
10:12. Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
10:14. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.
The wheel always rotates. Do not be arrogant if we are on the top! Do not get desperate if we are still at the bottom!
As long as the sun shines, God is able to do anything for us.
Matthew 13:43
13:43. "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Someday, the perfect love will change us to become as perfect as Jesus. We are ready to become His bride to greet Him on the glorious clouds.
- We prioritize God or the ministry more than anything. It is the same as becoming obedient and faithful until our flesh does not sound anymore.
God blesses us.